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Topic: Winter Berry (Read 7110 times)

it was repotted in Jan 2005. then we let it grow freely till May 2005. it was wired. the branches were grown without pruning. i have to remove and rewired 3 time that year. the process is repeated in 2006 but i did not take the picturethe pic is before and after wiring in 2005

since the first year that we work on this tree, we remove all flower buds off. in 2008 we let it bloom. after the new shoots elongate, we pruned it back to 4-5 leaves. in fall(november in the bay area) when the leaves change color, i pulled them off and prune it lightly for the show in 2009.

At the 2009 BIB show that tree lit up the entire room. Pictures are nice but really don't do it justice. In a formal display it practically glows. If there is one tree I would like to see more mature examples of in this country it would be Ilex Serrata. If I remember correctly this tree was imported a very long time ago.

Thank you for the pruning/wiring breakdown Boon, it is very helpful. Now that you have the main branch structure in place are you still wiring all the new growth? Or just pruning for ramification? Is this pruning different than that you would do for a non flowering/fruiting species like trident maple? I love seeing the development of trees over the course of years, thanks again for sharing.

At the 2009 BIB show that tree lit up the entire room. Pictures are nice but really don't do it justice. In a formal display it practically glows. If there is one tree I would like to see more mature examples of in this country it would be Ilex Serrata. If I remember correctly this tree was imported a very long time ago.

Thank you for the pruning/wiring breakdown Boon, it is very helpful. Now that you have the main branch structure in place are you still wiring all the new growth? Or just pruning for ramification? Is this pruning different than that you would do for a non flowering/fruiting species like trident maple? I love seeing the development of trees over the course of years, thanks again for sharing.

Alex V

Hi Alex,I agree it was very nice at the show. it was shown at Yamato show in 2004. i started to work on it in 2005. we regrew those branches. only stub of the main branches are kept. and then new apex was selected. we cut it back old branches, weak branches, and thick branches after the show. then we grew new branches again. at this stage we do not have as many new branches to wire. yes pruning is different from trident maple. trident can be defoliate 2-4 times a year. we never defoliate this tree. we do not let it fruit every year either. leaving the fruit on the tree, it will delay the branch development. fruit baring can take a lot of energy. we will let it fruit once every 2 - 3 year.Boon

I have also heard pruning scars do not heal well on these. I wonder, if growing one in the ground from cutting, should branches you know will eventually need to be removed, be removed early to prevent the large scars? It seems like there should be a balance point between having enough branches to thicken the trunk in a reasonable time frame and also being left with a relatively scar free trunk.

I just realized I should post a photo of the entire display here! Here is a photo from above as the tree was sitting in the queue to be loaded onto the truck the morning of the show, and a shot of the display as shown at the exhibit.

I have also heard pruning scars do not heal well on these. I wonder, if growing one in the ground from cutting, should branches you know will eventually need to be removed, be removed early to prevent the large scars? It seems like there should be a balance point between having enough branches to thicken the trunk in a reasonable time frame and also being left with a relatively scar free trunk.

you are correct. the growers grow lots of them. some do better job than the others.

I just realized I should post a photo of the entire display here! Here is a photo from above as the tree was sitting in the queue to be loaded onto the truck the morning of the show, and a shot of the display as shown at the exhibit.